


blurry and the boy

by fairly_addicted



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: (guess whos really bad at tagging lol), Alternate Universe - High School, Brief Mention of Suicide, Depressed Tyler Joseph, Head Shaving, Josh Is The New Kid, M/M, Mention of Mental Illness, New Kid Josh Dun, Oblivious Josh Dun, baldito really, i think thats it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 04:55:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18771625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairly_addicted/pseuds/fairly_addicted
Summary: Tyler's shadow followed him everywhere: to school, downtown, home, but especially his mind. But, when a new kid arrives at his school, his shadow disappears, and Tyler can't get enough of the feeling.





	1. The Shadow and the New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> sorry about the title, im Not Creative and i just needed to get this posted lmao

_“Coffee.”_  
“Why not orange juice? Or literally anything else?”  
No response.  
“Fine.”  
Tyler grabbed a mug from the cabinet, creamer from the fridge, then reached for the pot of hot coffee. He felt those piercing, red eyes on the back of his neck the entire time he made his drink, never once taking his own eyes off the cup. Finished and taking a sip, Tyler made his way to the dining room table. The pair sat in silence save for the sound of the rattling heater.  
_“Gonna actually go to school today?”_  
“I probably should, haven’t been for almost a week,” Tyler responded, still not looking up. “Heard there was a new kid, but I dunno know what his name is. All I know is he’s got coloured hair, red, I think.”  
_“Matches my eyes,”_ he replied, pointing to his eyes and smirking.  
“Sure,” Tyler said into his mug, taking another gulp.  
He probably _should_ go back to school today, he hadn’t been since last Tuesday, and the new kid had started Friday. At least the new kid didn’t know Tyler and his habit of skipping school yet. Monday’s were always better for Tyler anyway; it meant he had survived another Sunday.  
“Tyler? Are you ready for school yet?” his mother yelled from another room.  
_“Shit,”_ they muttered in unison, meeting each others eyes for the first time that morning. He wasn’t even out of his pajamas.  
“Yeah, just a minute!” he yelled back, setting his mug down and rushing up the stairs to get ready for the day. His shadow quickly followed him up, never leaving his side, as Tyler got dressed and ready for the day. 

~~~

“Are you sure you’re ok to go back to school, honey?” Tyler’s mom asked as she came to a stop outside the main entrance of the school.  
Resting his temple on his fist and looking out the window, Tyler responded with a simple “yes, mom” and unbuckled.  
“Call me if you need anything, I’m off all day today,” she said with a worried look in her eye.  
Tyler was already out of the car, stepping in fresh snow on the sidewalk. “Ok mom, I got it.” He gave a small wave and tight-lipped smile as he walked away, short-lived as his shadow reappeared next to him.  
_“Are you really sure? Like, really really sure?”_ he mocked in a higher voice. Rolling his eyes and returning to his normal pitch, he continued, _“God, I don’t think she could’ve asked you any more.”_  
“She worries; I know that’s a foreign concept to you,” Tyler responded, focused solely on the door handle now a few feet in front of him. He yanked it open, almost frozen shut from the chill air, not holding it for his shadow. He made his way to his locker, luckily not too far from the entrance.  
Tyler and his shadow shared the same thoughts, the same brain, so every single thought the latter had about his peers, his teachers, even what posters were up in the hallways, Tyler had to listen to. Sometimes it got to be too much; at least, that’s what happened last week. Usually he can keep it under control, but last week wasn’t the first incident and it certainly won’t be the last.  
The other kids didn’t understand. After his many, many episodes, they stopped wondering, and most kept to themselves around Tyler. Maybe they didn’t want to “catch” what he has. Maybe they understand but just don’t want to get too close anyway. Maybe they had their own versions of his shadow, whom he called “Blurryface”, in their minds as well. Too many “maybes”, too many “what-ifs”. That’s what his other half fed on: the anxiety that built and built in their minds, never leaving Tyler alone.  
After putting his bag away and grabbing the materials for his first few classes, Tyler made his way across the school to his first class of the day. As he walked the crowds seemed to part for him. He kept his head down and focused mainly on his feet, as he had no reason to look up to see where he’s going. Everything in his life was on a schedule, a routine, and school was no different; he knew exactly where to be at exactly the what time (always in class ten minutes early so he didn’t have to squeeze between full desks). Any disruption between the time he woke up to the time he went to bed had hellish potential depending on how Blurryface was feeling that day. His shadow dictated his day, something he prayed to God that he could get rid of. But, even with the therapy and the medication and weeks at a time off from school, Tyler still struggled. However, at this point, he and his darker side have begun to coexist, a better alternative to the absolute suicidal mess he was years ago.  
As he approached the door to his first class, US history, Tyler glimpsed a figure with a streak of red walking his way. Terrified, Tyler kept his head down to avoid contact. If this was the new kid, Tyler should stay away as much as possible. He was certain the rumours had already made their way to the new kid, and he didn’t need that kind of drama this early in the week. However, when Tyler sat down at his usual desk (second row, end seat, close to the door, with the surrounding desks almost always empty), he noticed the person had followed him in and sat next to him on the right. He glanced over quickly, hoping to not meet their eye.  
God had other plans. As Tyler looked up, the person was already looking at him. Staring, really, at his buzzed head.  
He had shaved it over his extended weekend, succumbing to Blurryfaces thoughts on it and how _“he looked so much better with short hair”_ , then saying he didn’t really mean it when Tyler had finished. These “games” were normal between them, this an example of one of his doubles’ lighter tricks.  
The person, a boy with dark brown eyes and, as Tyler had seen online, bright red hair, was staring directly at Tyler’s head. Tyler stared for a second himself, gathering as much about this kid as he could without being creepy, then looked at his eyes again. The pair met stares, and the boy flashed the best smile Tyler had ever seen, teeth and all. Feeling his cheeks burning, Tyler sent a quick, tight-lipped smile back then turned to his books, opening to a random page as if to start studying for some pretend test. The boy chuckled, nothing more than a quick exhale, and turned around to talk to another classmate.  
Throughout class, Tyler did what he did best and listened to the boy talk, gathering bits and pieces of information here and there. He picked up that the boy’s name was Josh, and that he had just moved from sunny L.A. to chilly Columbus. Luckily, they had a substitute today in class, so Josh was free to talk to other classmates as much as he liked. However, about three quarters of the way through class when conversation had shifted elsewhere, Josh turned back to Tyler, once again gazing at his almost bald head. Tyler tried not to look, starting to notice his every movement as he was being studied. His “friend” wasn’t much help either, egging him on to _“look up pussy, confront him!”_. He eventually cracked and looked up, meeting those dark brown eyes once again. Tyler just stared for a second, not sure what to say. _Do I introduce myself? What do I say to a stranger that just keeps staring at me?_ he struggled, the second voice in his head suddenly gone. For the first time in long time, Tyler Joseph finally felt quiet. A good quiet, one where his thoughts and emotions were still confused, but weren’t trying to kill him either. He grinned and murmured a simple “hi”, still maintaining eye contact but still searching for more information. Josh mimicked his grin, sticking his hand out to properly introduce himself.  
“Hiya, I’m Josh Dun,” he said, Tyler taking his calloused hand. “Did you do that yourself?” he continued, nodding and looking once more at Tyler’s head.  
“Yeah, did it this weekend,” Tyler responded, taking his hand back and rubbing his freshly buzzed scalp.  
“Neat! I wish I was brave enough to do that,” Josh said, still eyeing the others head, eventually moving his gaze back to his face.  
“Well, you’ve already done _that_ ,” Tyler said nodding towards Josh’s bright hair, “why not just bite the bullet?”  
“I dunno, never been one to go one hundred percent, full-speed-ahead, y’know?” Josh looked away for a second, running his hand through his messy hair. Tyler wasn’t one for physical affection, but he so desperately wanted to run his hand through the waves of red.  
After realising he had been staring, Tyler cleared his throat and introduced himself, asking Josh where he had moved from, already knowing the answer.  
“Los Angeles, home of Hollywood,” as he spoke, Josh put his hands in front of him then swept them to the sides, as if to portray LA as a magical wonderland. “My mom travels a lot, and she’s out here more than on the west coast, so my parents figured they might as well move out east. Columbus seems nice enough, but damn if it isn’t cold out here,” he said, feigning a shiver.  
Chuckling, Tyler glanced out of the corner of his eye for a second to see if his shadow has reappeared yet, but he hadn’t. Without a second thought, Tyler looked back at Josh and opened his mouth to ask something else. Perfect timing, however, as the first period bell screamed it’s high-pitched battle cry. The entire class besides the pair moved like a herd of sheep, all trying to get out as quickly as possible to grab a few words with friends in the halls before the next class. Tyler, a bit disappointed, started to gather his things as Josh walked to the door frame and waited. _That’s a first_ , a passing thought, as usually Tyler was the first to arrive and last to leave every class. He moved quicker, not wanting to slow Josh down.  
“So, where are you off to next?” Josh kept pace with Tyler as they walked down the hallway to the latter’s next class.  
“Algebra, what about you?”  
“Damn, I have physics. What about after?”  
Tyler held back a giggle. “Physics.”  
Josh didn’t even try. He let out one of the most genuine laughs Tyler had ever heard, the latters face lighting up seeing another so tickled by something so small. “That’s funny! When will I see you next then? Do I really have to wait all the way until lunch?”  
“’M afraid so,” Tyler responded, unable to get that laugh and the accompanying smile out of his vision, even with the thought of not seeing it for a few hours looming overhead.  
“Ok, well we’ll talk more then. I’m sure you’ll be able to find me,” Josh said, pointing to his head and walking backwards, pushing the door that led upstairs open with his back. Tyler smiled once more at him then continued his trek to algebra, looking down and smiling to himself behind his books.  
_“What the fuck was that?”_ The smile immediately faded, and a wave of anxiety washed over Tyler. He was back in reality. Not wanting to speak out loud and run the risk of being called out, Tyler continued the conversation in his head.  
_Nothing, I’m just making new friends. Hopefully this one will stick around, the last few words emphasized towards his second half._  
_“Oh, c’mon. You can’t blame me for that,”_ Blurryface replied, walking through a group of chattering people like they weren’t even there. Tyler wished he could shoot him a look.  
_I can and absolutely will. Why are you so- why are you being protective over me?_ Tyler questioned, looking for the words.  
_“I just worry about you, y’know?”_  
Yeah, I’m real sure that’s it.  
Tyler ended the conversation there as he walked into his second class, ten minutes early and confused on why his other half was so weird about them meeting a new person. Hopefully nobody had told Josh of Tyler’s past yet; he didn’t want this friendship to end quite so soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont have a name for this chapter but it's time for some more exposition babey! blurrys gettin protective lmao

After a rough test in algebra and a not-so-great lab experiment in physics, Tyler was ready for lunch. He made his way to the cafeteria, the only place he wasn’t the first to get to, and scanned the room for red hair. He spotted Josh, perched on the back of a chair with his feet up on the seat, talking with a table of people Tyler didn’t know personally. Josh almost seemed out of place, as he was sitting more on the outskirts of the table, but seemed to be in an engaging conversation. Not wanting to bother him, Tyler sat at his usual table, alone except for his shadow that seemed especially heavy. He unpacked his lunch and went to work, opening the notebook that acts as another limb to the last page he was working on. Songwriting had always been interesting to Tyler, so when he was “off” from school he had begun writing some lyrics of his own. More poetic than a song, but more rap-like than a poem, Tyler wanted to spill all of his thoughts out onto the paper, if only to get them out of his head. He resurfaced occasionally to take bites of food and sips of whatever juice bag he packed that morning, but he spent today's lunch like any other, complete with Blurry’s running commentary that he tried to ignore. He eventually felt eyes on him, though, and when he looked up he saw Josh looking at him from across the room. Tyler raised his hand in a small, two finger, salute-like wave, then watched as Josh politely excused himself and made his way over. Tyler quickly put his notebook away before Josh could see, afraid of the potential for criticism, especially from a stranger. He grinned as Josh pulled out a chair for himself and sat down to the right of Tyler, showing off his goofy grin as he did earlier that morning.  
“Hi,” Tyler said, kicking himself for repeating his same greeting from earlier.  
“How was algebra and physics? My classes sucked. I totally bombed the test in algebra. You would think the teacher wouldn’t make me take it, y’know me being the new kid and all,” Josh said, resting his chin on his crossed arms that were already on the table. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Tyler.  
“G-good, I bombed too, and I even go to this school,” Josh laughed at that. Tyler was more nervous than he was this morning, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Yeah, this kid was kinda cute, and he had a smile that could make your knees weak, and his eyes kept catching the light, making them look like they were tigers eye caught in a ray of sunshine, but whatever it was, Tyler couldn’t stop staring.  
“Man, you’re knockin’ them out of the park, Ty!”  
_Ty?_ He immediately matched Josh’s hair. Nobody ever called him that besides his parents, and even _that_ was a rare occasion. He coughed in attempt to cover up his face, but he started choking, making it worse by the second. Blurryface was there, distantly, cracking up as hard as Tyler had ever heard. He eventually recovered, his eyes watery and red, but real concern painted Josh’s face as he held the juice bag from Tyler’s lunch in front of Tyler. Taking a few sips and trying to calm his racing heart, he finally broke through and asked Josh what the rest of his day looked like.  
Taking out a small, folded piece of paper, Josh replied, “uh, English next, then band, then sculpture. Have you ever taken that?” he paused, looking back at Tyler. “Sculpture, I mean.”  
Finally fully recovered, Tyler responded, “I’m not sure, I think it’s something to do with clay? I’ve never taken that, but I’m in the regular art class next door.”  
“Cool! Does that mean I can sneak out and visit you during class?” Josh’s eyes lit up at the thought.  
“I mean, uh, I’m sure you can- I just,” Tyler fumbled for words, but Josh didn’t seem to notice.  
“What about English? Do you have that next?”  
“Yeah, I do.”  
“Nice! At least I get to see you a few times during the day,” Josh exclaimed.  
Tyler was saved from another blush-attack as the bell announced once again that it was time for the next class.  
“Can I walk with you to class?” Josh asked, the pair being herded by the crowd toward the hallway. “I can’t remember where that class is to save my life.”  
“Y-yeah, sure, I just gotta grab my stuff from my locker,” Tyler replied.  
“Oh, dude, then I can see where your locker is! Back in LA, me and my friends-” Tyler’s heart skipped a beat at that word, “-would always leave notes inside or stuck onto each others lockers. It was always fun to see who could get the other back before the end of the day because we weren’t supposed to have anything on the walls or lockers, but here seems much more chill about that.”  
“Y-yeah, absolutely,” Tyler was thrilled to have someone refer to him as their friend, a title that he had not bore in quite a while. Sure he had acquaintances and knew the other kids, but nobody went out of their way to talk with him. He felt Blurry, a never-ending presence, emerge a bit at the thought. Tyler tried his best to ignore him.  


~~~

Finally reaching the classroom after fighting their way through the after-lunch crowd, the pair sat down at Tyler’s usual seat, Josh plunking down once more to the right of the other. The class went as normal, with a new essay due at the end of the week. Josh, at a loss, asked Tyler if they could work together throughout the week, and if Tyler could cliffsnotes him on all he’d missed during the move. The pair parted ways after trying to stop time and squeeze in a few more minutes talking, Tyler thankful that his next class was on the same side of the building as Josh’s. However, Tyler was not thankful for said class.  
Gym. Every non-athletic persons nightmare, but it hit Tyler harder. He had extreme body dysmorphia, always thinking he was too big when the scale said he was too small. It was something that had developed in middle school, right alongside Blurryface, and had taken Tyler in a tight grip for years. Nowadays, it wasn’t so bad; of course his other half was always there to remind him of how shitty he felt during that time. As he changed, all alone in the locker room due to his strict, self-made schedule and the need to hide himself, Blurry made another appearance after Tyler noticed he hadn’t been around the entire English class. As Tyler sat on the bench to tie his shoes, his second self quietly muttered “easy there”.  
Louder, he said “so,” dragging out the syllable for a second, “do you wanna talk about him?”  
“What do you mean?” Tyler wasn’t afraid to verbally communicate to Blurry here; everyone had either already changed and were out in the gymnasium already or would slide into class at the last second, most times still in jeans.  
“I _mean_ , the way you see yellow and puppies every time you see him,” he almost spit the words out, crossing his arms and leaning against the lockers as he spoke. After years of him always being by his side, Tyler had adjusted to Blurry’s speech patterns and different vocabulary. He described things with nouns and adjectives, like when he says “puppies” he means “happiness”, or that “blue” means “sad”. Sure, Blurry came from Tyler, but it was like having a wholly different person, one that understood you completely, but was a separate entity.  
“I-” Tyler thought for a second. “He’s someone new, someone that doesn’t know me and our habits yet.” Tyler started to fade away, his mind full of Josh and that adorable grin, how his eyes shine when he’s talking to Tyler, how-  
His thoughts were interrupted. “Oh, so you’re gay now?”  
Tyler was in complete shock. “Wha- what do you- wh-” he fumbled and struggled to speak, his mind racing. _What??_ was all he could get out, grateful his other half could still understand him in his shocked state.  
“Now do you know what I mean?” he replied, bent over and in Tyler’s face, staring menacingly into his eyes, making the latter see how much Blurry still controlled him, then vanished as the final bell rang. Tyler hadn’t been paying attention, and he ran to the gym, one shoe still untied.  


~~~

Mentally checking off another uneventful gym class, Tyler left the locker room and headed to the next hallway over, the arts hallway. He had been more distracted than usual during the class; Blurryface’s comments had made his face a constant shade of pink the entire hour. He hoped nobody noticed, thinking only that Tyler was super into their volleyball matches even though every time he moved, which was scarce, he felt like throwing up. That feeling sustained, however, when Josh jogged over to meet him. Tyler tried to keep calm and collected as the red-haired boy met up with him, immediately turning back around as the hall he had just run out from was the one the pair needed to go back to.  
“How was gym?” he asked, grinning.  
“It was, uh, good,” Tyler was still struggling with speech, but at least his face was starting to cool down.  
“Good,” Josh responded.  
“How w-was band? What do you, uh, what do you play?” Tyler asked, his heart rate finally slowing back to normal but his speech still a bit rushed.  
“Drums,” he replied. “Been playin’ for as long as I can remember. I don’t have a set at home, so I figured taking a class was the next best thing.” He shrugged.  
“Oh, cool. I can show you a local record store if you want. It’s closer into town, but it’s close enough to walk or skateboard to.” Tyler paused for a half second, amazed that he got all of that out without issue. “Where do you live? Are you close to school? Downtown?”  
“Kinda in the middle. Still close enough to walk- or skateboard- to either,” Josh replied. “What about you?”  
Tyler realised how close they were to his art room and felt his mood drop. He was having so much fun talking to Josh, even about mundane things as how far away from school they both were.  
“Same. I’m close enough that I could walk, but on freezing days like today my mom drops me off.”  
“Cool,” Josh looked away and motioned toward the rooms, each across the hall from the other. “Is this our stop?”  
“Unfortunately.” A wave of melancholy washing over him, almost strong enough to knock him off his feet. He remained upright however, and the pair wished each other well as they split. Immediately, Tyler felt his shadows presence, those evil red eyes shooting daggers into him. Luckily, the other was quiet for most of the class, and at the end, covered in coloured pencil shavings, Tyler met back up with Josh. It was nice to have someone waiting for him at the end of the day besides his mother and his shadow. The pair walked to Tyler’s locker, Tyler assuming Josh either hadn’t gotten his locker assignment yet or that he just didn’t carry anything with him.  
“So, uh, are you doing anything tonight? I kinda wanted to check out that record store you told me about,” Josh seemed a bit hesitant.  
“Sure, I mean- yeah, of course- I mean, I'm not doing anything,” Tyler stumbled once again over his words. Taking a breath, he asked, “Do you wanna walk, or….?”  
Without missing a beat, Josh replied, “I can borrow my moms car, y’know, so we don’t freeze,” and grinned.  
Tyler could feel his face warming up again. Luckily, by this time the hallway was mostly empty save for the after-school sports kids. Tyler had never learned how to drive, too afraid of getting behind the wheel of his mom’s massive van. He had never really felt comfortable driving in any capacity, and had to “drop out” of drivers ed after the first class. He was thankful that Josh offered, he thought as they walked outside, realising how cold it still was.  
Putting his hands under his arms, Josh asked, “so, do you wanna just come over to my house? Then we can just leave from there. Uh-unless you wanted to go home first- I can come over and pick you up instead-”  
Tyler noticed the slight waver in Josh’s tone, immediately perking up. “Yeah, absolutely! Why waste the gas picking me up, y’know?” he chuckled. “Lemme go tell my mom real quick, I’ll be right over.”  
Tyler jogged over to the silver minivan loitering in the bus loop, right where she always was, motioning for her to put the window down.  
“Who’s that?” she asked immediately.  
“The new kid, remember? From last week?” Tyler tried explaining as quickly as possible. “Can I go to his house for a little while? We’re gonna go to the record store in downtown.”  
Tyler was always able to easily read his mother, and he instantly picked up that she wasn’t so sure about her son going out by himself with a stranger. “I’ll be fine mom, I promise. I’ll call if I need to,” he pleaded.  
“Call or text me when you get downtown and when you leave,” she said sternly in the way only a protective mother could.  
“Ok, see you tonight,” Tyler replied, backing away and waving, then jogging back to Josh, who was leaning against a dirty white SUV.  
“I assume she said yes?” he re-greeted Tyler with that same charming grin still plastered on his face.  
“Yeah, this yours?” Tyler replied, gesturing to the car.  
Pushing off the vehicle and moving to stand next to Tyler, Josh looked at the car. “Kinda. It’s my moms, but she either works from home or my dad drops her off, so I get her car most days.” He turned to Tyler, “ready to go?”  
Grinning at the other, Tyler replied, “yeah, let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> <3 lmk any errors  
> tumblr [number1nedstan](https://number1nedstand.tumblr.com)


End file.
